


Four Feathers

by finch (afinch)



Category: Saving Grace (TV)
Genre: Gen, implied infidelity, meeting earl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-19 04:34:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13116120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afinch/pseuds/finch
Summary: Earl's attempts to get Grace to clean up her act have far-reaching reverberations





	Four Feathers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bodldops](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bodldops/gifts).



> Set sometime during S1, but nowhere specific.

Ham was on his way into the liquor store, to pick up beer to bring to Grace's. He'd told his wife that he'd be working late again, and it was true. Working his thrusts - he chuckled to himself at the thought. He'd have to remember to tell that one to Grace later. She'd think it was funnier than he did. 

"Hey Mister, got any jumper cables?"

Ham's smiled disappeared, almost instantly. "Yea, yea," he said quickly. "Where's your car, I'll pull up." 

The man, long-haired, with a cheeky smile, looked nervous, but otherwise harmless.

Ham was back in under a minute, pulling his truck up nose to nose with the car. 

"I'm Ham," Ham said, extending a hand, jumper cables in the other.

"Earl," said Earl, a slight lilt in his voice. "I dunno what happened to her, or why she won't start."

"Yea, yea, don't worry about it, happens to all of us, right?"

He was rushing quickly, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible. Grace would be getting impatient. 

For some reason, the cables didn't catch. Earl's car sputtered, but never turned over. 

"Damn," Ham said, running his hand through his hair. 

Earl walked out, cell phone in hand, "Tow truck guy says he can make it out first thing tomorrow."

"Damn," Ham said again. He shifted back on his feet, running his hand through his hair again. "Alright, well, do you live close? I can drop you off?"

Earl beamed, "That would be great, mister! I'm over on Highland."

"Oh yea? I'm just off Highland, on Connecticut."

"So I'm not out of your way at all,"

"No, not at all," Ham said quickly, without thinking. He lived off Highland, but Grace didn't. And he was supposed to be headed to Grace's. Too late to back out now. 

He hastily cleaned off the passenger seat and Earl clambered in. "Got the missus waiting for you?"

Ham started the car and shifted in his seat, hunching defensively over the wheel. "Yea," he said, without much enthusiasm. "Yea, she's at home. What about you?"

"Yes, I got me someone special waiting," Earl said, a smirk on his face. "Name's Gracie."

"Oh yea?" Ham said. "Darlene's my wife."

Earl pointed at the badge on the dash, "She must worry about you a lot."

Ham reached over and pulled the badge down, "Yea, I am, and yea she does. So you? What do you do?"

"Oh, a lot of things," Earl dismissed. "Therapist, when people let me."

"That must be hard," Ham said, opening up slightly. "It's hard enough as a cop to get people to trust me."

Earl nodded, "I got a couple tough clients, that's for sure. Now, uh, I'm up here on the left."

Ham looked around, "Huh, I'm right there, the blue house. Good luck with the car and I'll see you around."

Earl beamed, "Thanks, and I'm glad I didn't delay you getting home and oh look, I think the missus was waiting for you." He pointed to the porch light at the blue house, which had just flickered home. 

Ham couldn't be mad at this gentleman for living so close to him and needing help. Grace would understand and it would be good to get to spend a quiet night with Darlene.

* * *

Butch stood at the crime scene the following morning, Rhetta beside him. The pool of blood was fresh enough to not fully oxidize and Rhetta's gloves were tinged with brown oxidized blood. 

"It's a shame," Butch said, staring at the covered body. "She's only 16."

"This happened less than two hours ago," Rhetta said. 

"Was she raped?"

"Likely," Rhetta said, her voice tight. "You talk to the witness?"

"No. I was going to wait, but …"

Rhetta looked over at the witness, a very morose looking man, chewing tobacco. He looked familiar, but not in a way she was in a mindset to try to place. She slid off her gloves, then wiped down the front of her clothes, looking for more blood.

"You're good," Butch said, but he was distracted, still watching the man, and looking apprehensive about it. 

"Do you want me to come with?" she offered. "Bobby won't be here for another 10 minutes or so."

Butch looked relieved, "That would be great. I hate doing these, especially alone."

They approached the gentleman, his eyes red from fresh tears. "I tried," he drawled as they approached, "Lord, I tried. I wasn't even supposed to be here. Just out for a walk, lettin' someone cool down. She was having a bit of a bad night." he stopped at that aside, shaking his head. "Then I just- I tried. It was- I tried-" he broke off, shaking his head some more. 

"God," Rhetta said softly. "Nobody should have to witness that. Sir, you did the best you could."

Butch nodded, "I need you to start at the beginning."

Earl started, describing the scene and how it was impossible for him to help. Butch was trying to stay professional about the whole thing, but Rhetta was tearing up right along with him. 

Butch thanked him at the end, and Earl, openly crying, accepted the napkins from Rhetta and blew his nose and wiped his face, thanking her as he walked off. 

"Shit," Butch said. "We gotta catch this guy."

"You'll get him," Rhetta said. "I'll prioritize this in the lab."

It was unspoken why they were prioritizing this case. Earl had been a compelling witness, and his genuine remorse and guilt about the situation touched them deeply. 

*

Back in the lab, Rhetta had the evidence from the case spread out in front of her. She was deep into her work and didn't hear Grace walk in. 

"Guess what?!"

"Mmm," Rhetta said. "Grace, I gotta get this done. This girl was only 16."

Grace ignored this. "Ham met Earl last night."

Rhetta looked up, a bright smile growing on her face, "What? How?"

Grace wriggled in anticiaption and hopped up on a counter. "Apparently, Earl needed a jump last night, but it didn't work, and apparently Earl lived just down the street from Ham, so Ham gave him a ride home."

"And you know this, how?"

"Ham and I had plans," she left it at that.

Rhetta looked disappointed, but said nothing. "So Earl stopped him, you mean?"

"Yea, he spent the night with Darlene. I was pissed about it. We had a bit of a shouting match and he left all huffy. Said he was going to talk a walk and come back. And when he came back, he-"

But things had clicked for Rhetta and she looked stunned, "Our witness is Earl?"

"According to Butch, that's his name. Earl Harrison, shopkeeper. Will make an excellent character witness." Grace said with glee.

"We're working on this case because you got mad at Earl because he was trying to- wow, Grace, wow, that's just incredible."

Grace seemed unimpressed by this. "Rhetta, you'd be working the case anyway."

"Yes, but now I- you're really not impressed by this?"

Grace shrugged, "I don't know why he keeps trying to make this point."

"Look what happened as a consequence, look how everything is so - so connected!" Rhetta pushed her glasses up, excited. "We're all so connected, Grace, you and me, and Butch, and Ham and Earl gave us all such a _gift_. It's incredible. It's just incredible."

"Four feathers," Grace said. "Rhetta, what do you want to bet if we went and looked around the crime scene, and wherever Ham was last night, we'd find three more feathers?"

Rhetta jumped on this, "You get Butch, I'll clean up."

From behind them, and out of sight of Grace, Earl smiled.


End file.
